First day of Preschool

When the boys were 1 ½ years old, they went to a preschool once a week for a short time.  That only lasted temporarily, as the boys nap schedule made for a rough day at school for everyone involved.

Needless to say, today was the big day.  The boys are enrolled full time in the mornings at a lovely French school that is within walking distance from home.  In recent weeks, Mom and Dad have been ‘prepping’ Laird and Dylan about school and what to expect.  They were excited about reading books, making art, playing with new toys, recess, and making new friends.  They also knew that Mom and Dad would walk with them to school but then we would have to leave and pick them up at lunch.

At 5 am, Mom woke and showered, excited and needing some alone time before the boys woke up.  Her babies are growing up way too fast.

Laird with his favorite breakfast, French toast and mangos.

Dylan, too excited to eat before school.

Laird, very sad, telling Faye that his stuffed sheep doesn't go to school.

Mom and Dad walked the boys to school, met the teacher, Ms. Florence, and left the school all within a short amount of time.  Many students were crying, yet Laird and Dylan were too excited about the outdoor playground to even notice Mom and Dad leaving.

The walk to school.

Mom and Laird.

Dylan saying to the sheep, 'Hey sheep, D going to school today!', as we passed the neighborhood sheep.

‘Wow’, said Mom, ‘that wasn’t too bad. Not at all what I had expected’.

And then, after walking a block away from the school, we heard it.

‘Daaaaaaaaaadddddaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa’ cried Dylan echoing throughout the neighborhood.

And then the high pitched shrill.  ‘Daaaaaaaaaadddddddaaaaaaaaaa.’

And then two identical voices screaming in unison.

‘Should we go back?’ asked Dad.

‘No,' replied teacher mom, giving herself the same pep talk she had given Kindergarten parents at school a hundred times.  ‘They will cry for a short amount of time and then they will be fine.  If we go back, it will do more harm than good.  If they truly can’t calm down, the school will call us’.  I had to repeat this over and over in my head.

Mom and Dad drove downtown where we purchased their schools supplies and a special ice cream treat for the boys, both constantly checking our phones to see if there were any missed calls.

At pickup, the boys happily told us about their day, while Mom dusted off the sand from Dylan as he apparently was making snow angels in the school yard during recess.

‘They were very happy and quite independent’ the Director told us.  ‘Lovely boys’.

Mom and Dad were also quite happy that neither of the boys had any potty accidents at school, even with all the excitement happening!

The boys had a big lunch and enjoyed a special ice cream treat in celebration of the big day. 

As Laird got in his bed to take a nap he said, ‘Momma, Laird loves Florence.  Yes, Laird loves loves loves Florence.’

And Dylan said, ‘Yeah, Dylan likes school too.’

My babies are growing up way too fast.

Since the boys are in the same class,
they will have to wear these name tags
everyday to school.  Let's hope they don't
figure out how to swap them!

First day of school teacher gift for Ms. Florence:
Hand sanitizer, cough drops, vitamin C drink, tissues, hand cream, and cookies!

Before school photo.  Priceless.

Dylan's monkey face.